Statement on Global Economy: Gender, Class and Racism
Women's International Coalition for Economic Justice (WICEJ)
UN Commission on the Status of Women, New York, March 2001

We are women from diverse groups and communities who use an integrated feminist analysis of economic issues at a global level.There are several intersecting elements in an analysis of equity in the global economy.These include:

•Gender

•Race,ethnicity, caste and national identity

•Class

The current economic system is built on the history of colonialism,slavery and imperialism.These oppressing forces were inherently racist and sexist. They stole from oppressed people wealth and resources as well as political power.They created inequalities within and between people and coun-
tries -both of the North and South.The current global economic model,aggravates former inequalities and creates new ones.It pretends that there is a level playing field and that all people are treated fairly.This is not true.

The promoters of the current world economic order,including multinationals and some governments and elites,use the World Trade Organisation and International Financial Institutions (IFIs), to push policies like privatization,reduced public services,export-led growth, fees for public services,and unequal trade liberalization.These policies hurt people who do not have economic or political power.

However,the impact of the current global economy on class,gender,race,ethnicity,caste and national identity is only half the story.This system also depends on and increases these inequalities to achieve growth for elites.It exploits power differences . To understand the way in which inequalities are created and maintained, we have to look at how class, gender, race, ethnicity, caste and national identity interact with and reinforce each other. We see the collision of multiple oppressions within the global economy through:

• The Sri Lankan woman working in a multinational corporation in Malaysia who is fired for trying to organize a union

• The African-American woman from the United States who has to quit college to work for social benefits at sub-minimum wage

• The 9 year-old Laotian girl from the Thai border who is sold to a brothel in Bangkok which is frequented by foreign tourists because she ’s seen as being disease-free.

• The Mozambican young girl who is malnourished because her parents grew cashew nuts for export instead of their staple food of cassava.

• A Russian woman who has lost her job as a schoolteacher who can not now afford medical treatment because of the fees imposed as a result of a
Structural Adjustment Program.

• A Kuna indigenous woman from Panama who is losing her major source of income from artisan work because a multinational has patented her traditional designs.

• A young Roma woman in Austria who cannot find a permanent job is forced to work in the informal sector with no social security cover.

• The Somalian girl in a Tanzanian refugee camp has been raped as she walked to collect firewood. She has been infected by HIV but this will not be detected.

These scenarios are real. Class, gender, race, ethnicity, caste and national identity intersect in women ’s lives creating inequalities in order to increase the wealth of a few at the expense of an increasingly impoverished majority.They are not isolated cases.They represent the stories of millions of women.The violation of social,cultural and economic rights is encouraged by the rules of the system itself.

We cannot stop racial or ethnic conflict,or discrimination against women,if we don ’t understand and address the intersection of the cause of inequalities. If people face structural discrimination we have to find a structural solution.To design solutions that address class, gender, race, ethnicity, caste and national identity concerns,we have to transform the structures of the global economy.This is a task on which progressive forces will need to work together.

As part of Inter-Governmental processes, there are some actions that should be taken now.We support a range of initiatives currently being proposed. It is extremely important that all proposals take into account the intersection of multiple oppressions.They must be formulated,implemented and
monitored in a transparent and participatory,democratic way. These include:

There should be compliance by all governments and multi-lateral institutions with international instruments including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,the International Covenant on Economic,Social and Cultural Rights,the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD), the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC),ILO conventions covered by the ILO Declaration of Fundamental Principles and Rights at work and environmental treaties.

In the context of the World Conference Against Racism,debt cancellation should be implemented at as a first step in reparations for the racism of colonialism,slavery and imperialism. Debt cancellation must be channeled to social services and ensure that the basic needs of women are met, through local participatory means.

An integration of the intersection of race,class and gender in the Financing For Development process is of crucial importance.Key objectives such as the 50%poverty reduction by 2015 cannot be achieved unless strategies are built on an understanding of these intersections.For example, export led growth,without both local control and equitable distribution of the gains from this, can in fact, lead to the impoverishment of women and nations. Specific steps should include:

• Debt cancellation

• Currency transaction tax

• Effective capital controls

• Improved market access for exports from developing countries

• The implementation and monitoring of these processes,must ensure that they reduce inequalities on every level.

In addition to the above,it is critical that United Nations agencies deepen their understanding of multiple oppressions and incorporate,among others, the following processes:

• The Committee for the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) needs to consider how intersection is built into its reports.

• The Committee for the Elimination of Racial Discriminations (CERD) needs to draw on UN expertise on the impact of globalisation,and gender into a multi-disciplinary approach.

• The World Conference Against Racism should address the structure of exploitation within the global economy and not just prioritize specific violations of individual and group rights.

• ECOSOC has already recognized the importance of an integrated approach to the follow up to all the major UN conferences since the 1990s. We support this initiative and believe that its success in addressing social justice will rest on its capacity to incorporate intersectionality as a primary focus.

Civil society including trade unions and non-government organisations,in addition to all inter governmental organisations and the United Nations, need to take into account the intersection of class, gender, race, ethnicity, caste and national identity in order to challenge the current global economic
model that continues to create and maintain inequalities.